PRESS RELEASE from Cageprisoners 2/13/08

In a landmark decision the Court of Appeal has today ruled that only acts which are directly connected to terrorism can be criminalised.

Recently four first year students from Bradford University and a friend were prosecuted for the possession of ‘radical’ literature and the content of their internet conversations. Despite there being no direct linkage to any acts of terrorism an Old Bailey jury proceeded to find these young men guilty of what they might do and their reading material.

Spokesman for Cageprisoners, Moazzam Begg, commented,

“In light of today’s ruling it is now safe for students to read books and confront the paranoia and self-censorship stalking our academic institutions. The decriminalisation of idle curiosity through the judgment will go a long way to breaking down the climate of fear amongst British Muslims on their journeys of self-discovery and identity.”

The Court of Appeal has again been required to clarify ill conceived legislation which has been rushed through Parliament without the careful and detailed attention it deserves by the previous government.

Cageprisoners is a human rights organisation that exists to raise awareness of the plight of the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and other detainees held as part of the War on Terror. We aim to give a voice to the voiceless.